Counting mechanism



Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES K0813 JAOO'BSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,

ASSIGNOB or ONE-HALF T0 wnltmu A.

SOEACHT, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

COUNTING MECHANISM.

Application filed August 7,1924. Serial ljlo. 780,687.

7 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Mosns JAcoBsoN, a former citizen of Latvia (who made formal declaration of his intention 'to become a citizen of the United States), residing at 1373 Franklin Avenue, in the borough of the Bronx of the city of New York, county of Bronx, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Counting Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in counting mechanisms to be used in cash registers, revolution counters, adding machines, odometers, water meters, gas meters, electric meters and similar devices and it consists in the novel features hereinafter more full described.

One obJect of my improvements is to produce an improved counting mechanism, which is compact, simple and inexpensive; another object is to produce a counting mechanism, in which the elements, which carry the insignia of tens, hundreds and higher denominations, may be manipulated independently of and simultaneously with the elements which carry the insignia of units, i. e. the primary numerals.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear. I

I attain these objects by the counting mechanism, one form of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings or by any mechanical equivalent or obvious modification of the same.

In the drawings Fig. 1, is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 2, showing some of the elements of my counting mechanism; Fig. 2, is a view partly in section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Similar characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views. 10, 29, 30 and 40 are a series of shafts or spindles, supported by the frame 11, 12, 48 and 13, and arranged in zigzagfashion in two parallel lines, as shown in Fig. 1.

The spindle or shaft 10 is shown in Fig. 1 as having mounted thereon the insignia wheel'16, which has one or more engaging means or teeth 52 interiorly thereof, and the v eng'a ement member or toothed gear 15,

whic is shown as being in mesh with the rack 14, which actuates the same; the gear 15and wheel 16 may. be made in one piece, as shown, or they may be rigidly secured to each other or to the spindle 10.

The shaft or spindle 29 is shown in Fig. 1 as having mounted thereon the insignia wheel 19, which has interiorly thereof one or more teeth or other engaging means 53, the engagement member or toothed gear 17, which is situated in the plane of the teeth 52 of the wheel 16, and the auxiliary gear or pinion 18, which may be made in one piece with the gear 17 and wheel 19 as 7 insignia wheels, thereby causing each of said toothed gears to turn through a certain angle of rotation, which, as shown in Fig. 2,

is equal to about one fifth of a revolution.

By reducing the height of said teeth the said angle may be designed to be one tenth of a revolution; it may also be made equal to any other fraction of a revolution, if desired. 1

It is evident that, when the angle of rotation of the gears is one tenth of a revolution, for every ten revolutions of the wheel 16 the wheel 19 will make only one revolution, and for every ten revolutions of the wheel 19 the wheel 43 will make one revolution, and so on in the series; each successive insignia wheel in the series from right to left in Fig. 1 will-move one tenth as far as the next preceding insignia wheel and ten times as far as the next following insignia wheel.

The periphery of each insignia wheel may have formed thereon ten flat surfaces, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4:, and successive numeral's may be placed on said surfaces; the numerals on the wheel 16 may then represent the units of the accepted system of notation, the wheel 19-tens, the wheel 43- hundreds, and so forth; the rack 1 L may then be arranged to turn the gear 15 through one tenth of a revolution for each step to be counted.

To prevent the wheels 19, 43, etc, with the engagement members or toothed gears 17 41, respectively from overrunning their angle of rotation, also to enable these wheels, which represent higher denominations in the accepted system of'notation, to be moved independently 'of the wheel 16 and-of each other the racks 28 and 38 are insignia wheels ofthe series to the corresponding subsequent wheel, the rods 23 and 33 are provided. to bring the racks 28 and into the position shown in Fig. 1 and to keep said racks in thatposition during the time that a transfer is made whereupon said racks 28 and 38 are brought into mesh with said gears 18 and 42 by means of the rods 23 and 33 respectively, which rods are actuated by the springs 25 and 35, which .are shown as pressing at their inner ends against the collars 26 and 36 on said rods 23 and 33 andabutting at their outer ends a ainst the stationary blocks 24 and 34, w 'ch also serve as guides for the rods 23 and 33. y

To bring the racks 28 and 38 into the posi: tion shown in Fig. 1 the insignia wheels 16 and 19 are provided at the eripheries thereof with cams 20 and 30,w ich are'in engagement with the rolls 21 and 31 respective] which rolls are carried by pins secure to the rods 23 and, 33 as shown in Fig. 1.

he rods 23 and 33 also carry the rolls 54 and 55 in contact with the outer sides of the racks 28 and 38 respectively, for returning said racks into mesh with the gears or p'mions 18 and 42. The racks 28 and 38,

y when not acted on independentlylof the wheel 16', will act as pawls for the auxiliary gears 18 and 42 when the spur gears 17 and :41are not acted on by the internal teeth of the wheels 16 and 19 respectively, thereby preventing the latter gears from overrun.-

- nmg by momentum or through any other cause. 'It is understood .that every unit of the series to the left of the spindle 39 is similar to the unit mounted on thespindle 29, except that the very last unit to -the left 081;? a wheel, such as shown at-43, wit out ternal teeth and without a-cam on its periphery; and the first unit of the se rieshas no auxiliary gear. V As shown in Fig; 2, the wheels 16 and 19 may have thereon the series of or lates .45 and 44 respectively, one of which sees of each series will be in line with a corresponding boss ofeach of the other soployed.

7 tion,

' tum accepted system of notation.

@Instead of the racks 28 and 38 gears or any vother toothed members ma be em- Many changes m {be made in the details of m counting mec anism without departin rom the main scope of my invention, an parts of my improvements may be em- I 'ployed without other parts. 38'out of'mesh' with the gears 18 and 42 vvtend to include also all mechanical equivalents and obvious modifications of the same within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a counting mechanism a series of units consisting each of a spur gear and an insignia wheel rigidly connected thereto, the spur gear of'the successive unit of the series being eccentrically positioned with relation to the wheel of the receding unit of the series, and an interna tooth on the wheelpf the preceding unit of the series to engage the gear'of the successive unit of the series, to turn the same througha suitable part of' a revolution.

2. In a counting mechanism a series of units, consisting each of a toothed gear and an insignia wheel, having thereon a too the glears of the successive units to be turn by t e teeth of the wheels of the preceding unitsthrou h a suitable ind es for mountm units, e centre lines of sai spindles being arr ed in ,zi zag formation on two lines para el to eac other, thereby permitting the teeth of the insignia wheels to be out o mesh with the said toothed. rs during the greater part of the revolution of the said insignia wheels.- I I 3. In a counting mechanism a series of each of a toothed gear and art of a revoluunitsconsisting .an insignia w eel, having thereon a tooth tion or the initial unit of the series, thereby actuating the wheels of all the'umts, a toothed member and an auxilia gear for inde dactuating one of t e successive w eels entl of the series, a means for normally ep gfi the toothed member of each unit in m with its auxilia gearand a means for bringing the sai toothed member out of thereon said v the time when the toothed gear of said unit is being actuated by the wheel of the precedin unit.

4. l n a counting mechanism an initial unit, a series of intermediate units and a terminal unit, each of said units consisting of a toothed earand an insignia Wheel rigidly connected thereto, the gear of the successive unit of said series bein eccentrically positioned with relation to t e wheel of the preceding unit of the series, internal teeth on the wheels of the initial and intermediate units, the gears of the terminal and intermediate units to be turned by the teeth of the wheels of the preceding units, each through a suitable part of a revolution and a rack for turning the gear of the initial unit.

5. ,In a counting mechanism a series of units consisting-each of a toothedgear and an insignia wheel, having thereon a tooth, the gears of the successive units to be turned by the teeth of the wheels of the preceding units through a suitable part of a revolution, a means for actuating the toothed gear of the initial unit of the series, thereby actuating the Wheels of all the units, a toothed member and an auxiliary gear for independently actuating one of the successive wheels of the series, a reciprocating member for normally keeping the toothed member of each unit in mesh with its auxiliary gear and a cam for moving the reciprocating member in a direction to bring the said toothed member out of mesh with the said auxiliary gear during the time when the toothed gear of said unit is being actuated by the wheelof the preceding unit.

Executed on the 6th day of August, 1924.

Moses JACOBSON. 

